Drone mishap
Seems that in December we lost an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Mediterranean.
On Dec. 16, 2024, the MQ-9A took off within the European Command’s area of responsibility “before it experienced a sudden loss of thrust, a deterioration of air speed, and a gradual descent.”
Seems likely given the circumstances.
Accident Investigation Board President Col. Rick Schuessler described the mishap as being due to “a failure within the Splined Coupling Assembly” that “led to a sudden and permanent mechanical decoupling of the propeller from the engine, resulting in an unrecoverable loss of thrust,” the news release added.
“Permanent mechanical uncoupling” leading to “unrecoverable loss of thrust.” Anyone want a translation of that? Basically, the prop fell off in flight.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the manufacturer of the MQ-9, said the specific part failure was most likely the Spiral Retaining Ring, according to the report, but Schuessler wrote that “the definitive cause could not be discerned by a preponderance of the evidence because the wreckage was unrecoverable.”
It took off, it started to fly, then the prop fell off and the Reaper was lost in the sea. The freakin’ PROP fell off?
The drone was from the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and was being operated by service members from the 20th Attack Squadron out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.Military.com
While it sounds like maintenance by Wile E. Coyote, the article says the service life on that Spiral Retaining Ring before replacement is due is about 3,000 flight hours. This Reaper only had about half that many hours on it, so its lack of replacement sounds logical – but you know, sometimes there are outliers on the bell curve and it sounds like this time our luck was bad. Sure hope the poor maintenance guy from the 20th kept good notes.
Category: Air Force
J-nut failure.
I guess Goose couldn’t eject?
He ejected just fine. What happened was, there was this loose canopy floating above him…
“Permanent mechanical uncoupling” leading to “unrecoverable loss of thrust.”
translation: “get off me”
Finish the translation with “you’re heavy”.
At least hamas, the taliban or isis won’t recover that one…. maybe
Could be worse an Incentive Rider (Passenger) in the backseat of a F-15 Eagle ejected himself on the ground.
I have the video of the aircraft taxiing missing the canopy and passenger, then showing the passenger crawling on the ground.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/f-15-ride-along-passenger-234114304.html
Mike
USAF Retired
Could be even worse! Long ago, no video, my dad was working at the Rockwell plant in Columbus, Ohio, where they made OV10s and T2 Buckeyes. Apparently ejections seats weren’t safed inside a hangar and someone fired one, riding it straight up into the low ceiling where he died.
Small world, long ago at my first assignment in 86-88, I did Aircrew Life Support on the OV-10A Broncos. There was a picture, on our safety board, of an incident where a Crew Chief walked into the propeller blades. Sad part is he didn’t die right away.
There was a story (Told by FTD when I was getting signed off on the seat) of someone on the base committing suicide by riding the seat in a hangar. Don’t recall if it was one of our OV-10s or one of the F-4s.
I was installing a chute in one of the Broncos, when a F-4 pilot was preflighting his seat and it fired with him standing on it. We saw the seat going up, and the pilot flailing as he fell away from it, broke his back. I never found out or understood how it happened.
I have a healthy respect for ejection seats, having worked on them in the OV-10, and F-15, didn’t have to worry about them in C-130s, C-9s, T-39, and we didn’t touch them in the T-38.
Mike
USAF Retired
Electing from an OV-10 in the hangar, without a helmet would be a bloody and painful way to go, since ejection is through the canopy.
Yes, through. There is a “canopy cutter” mounted atop the seat, right above your head that breaks the Plexiglas as the seat passes through.
Former USMC OV-10 Hydraulics mech, VMO-2 1987-1993
Don’t know what to make of the photo but now I have the
song stuck in my head.
https://youtu.be/Dy4HA3vUv2c
Not a bad earworm to have.
One of my all-time favorites.
The cowbell is my favorite part of the tune.
For those not in the know; the average unit cost of an MQ-9 is estimated at $33 million in 2023 dollars. So it is kind of a big deal. Still, I’d rather lose a bunch of those than a air breather with a pilot aboard.
“before it experienced a sudden loss of thrust, a deterioration of air speed, and a gradual descent.”
My dad always said “Lose not thy airspeed, lest the ground rise up and smite thee”.
Ah, the tenth. I always chuckle at the 4th.
“Thou shalt cast thine eyes to thy right and also to thy left as thou passeth through the air lest thy fellow pilots bring flowers to thy widow and comfort her in other ways.”
Anything made by man can, and will, fail.
1) thankful no one was hurt/killed, unlike similar situations with ‘rotary-winged aircraft’
2) hope the mechanic kept very good logs. If not before, I bet they do after.
“before it experienced a sudden loss of thrust, a deterioration of air speed, and a gradual descent.”
Yes, it usually works in that sequence. The next step after “gradual descent” is “stall, spin, freefall”
If the drone fell closer to the shore, maybe they can locate it in a coastal behive.
As I have navigated from enlisted Soldier, through the NCO ranks, commissioned and worked my way into the field grade level, there were many, many required courses to attend as well as gaining experience. One thing that I have been trained on, but more importantly learned from experience, is that when it comes to funding, maintenance and training usually get cut or reduced first. People will say that they,,, fill in the blank,,,,fixed it, replaced it, etc. when they didn’t (this is MUCH more prevalent in the latest generation), said “it’s fine” to keep from having to MOVE, etc. etc. etc.
I have seen, and continue to see, over the years, over different administrations and different commands and commanders, around the world, the ones that “make it happen”, that get the job done and show positive results, get dropped, shit-canned, etc. and the ass kissers, brown noses, back stabbers, “pets”, get to continue on. Once the positive workers/ team members are gone, those that didn’t know,,,, learn!
I will roll over 38 years of service this year. That’s US Army to start and since 2013, National Guard. ( I joined the Army in 1987). It has remained a steady constant, but seems to be more common lately. Either that, or I am just a curmudgeon now!